Turquoise Trading Post, North Austin jewelry and art shop, is among the local businesses preparing to welcome some patrons without masks. Owner Jim Williamson said his store would continue to encourage masking in the interest of customer and staff safety but not require it.
"For now, we'll keep our signs up requiring masks but just let folks do what they want," Williamson said, adding he would continue to make masks available for free to customers who wanted them and assume unmasked guests are vaccinated.
South First Street gallery Art for the People, on the other hand, will stay the course for the time being.
"At this time we are keeping our policy in place, which is that masks are required, and we're still sanitizing hands," Lynnie Goodman, the gallery's creative director, told Community Impact Newspaper.
Rachelle Fox, who co-owns East Austin restaurants The Cavalier and Wicky's Walkup with her husband, Chadwick Leger, said her team needed more time to consider any policy changes.
"We spent the last year turning on a dime every three days. We want to give ourselves a little more elbow room to get situated," Fox said.
For the time being, patrons at The Cavalier are asked to wear a mask while not sitting at their party's table. The Cavalier is offering patio service along with some indoor seating right now, and in June it plans to bring back bar seating. Fox said the extra time to consider plans is in the interest of making the guests and staff feel safe.
"We cultivated a wonderful vibe of people looking out for one another. I don’t anticipate seeing a lot of pushback or rowdy negative energy," she said.
